Western Province youngster Imad Khan reckons taking the Currie Cup defeats on the chin is preparing him for the step up to big-time rugby with the Stormers.
Khan, a former Junior Springbok scrumhalf, has been getting regular game time as a starting nine in the WP jersey, with Labeeb Kannemeyer as his backup. But the WP rookie and his manskappe have already suffered three losses in this season’s Currie Cup.
Last week’s 50-34 loss to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld was particularly tough to digest, as WP blew a 27-10 half-time lead by leaking 40 second-half points and scoring just seven.
But losing won’t keep John Dobson, director of rugby at WP and the Stormers, from blooding youngsters, with the 20-year-old Khan all for it.
Khan says: “As youngsters in this competition, it is tough and you are going to take a couple of knocks here and there. But it is about putting yourself in a situation, experiencing it, learning from it and progressing forward.
“The only way you get better is if you are in a match situation. You can train as much as you want to, and talk about the game as much as you want to, but the only time you learn is when you are in those situations on the field.”
Of having world-class Stormers nines Herschel Jantjies and Paul de Wet around for advice in the tough times, Khan says: “I [certainly] don’t need to look that far [for inspiration or advice]…
“You learn from each of them and try and feed off them because they’re world-class.”